As part of efforts at unleashing sporting potential in Anambra State, the Thanos Charity Foundation will on Saturday, 16th of March, 2024, be holding the first Anambra Marathon event.
The event which will commence on Saturday by 7 am, will see athletes take off from Ogbunike Tollgate and end at Emmaus House, Awka.
They will cover about 35 kilometers on the Onitsha to Awka stretch.
The winner of the event will go home with N1,000,000, the first runner-up will take home N500,000 while the second runner-up will get N300,000.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday to announce the sporting event, the President of Thanos Charity Foundation, Prince Ugochukwu Ifeanyi, said participation in the marathon is free and open to everybody.
He explained that on the strong advice of security and safety agencies and owing to circumstances they observed, they decided to take off from Ogbunike Tollgate for effective management, security, and safety of participants.
Speaking on details of the event, Ugochukwu said “The route is through the expressway.
“Tag numbers and procedures for the marathon will be concluded on Friday.
“We have made arrangements for three ambulances with medical personnel to ensure the safety of the athletes.
“We had publicized the event through national dailies and social media and it is amazing the volume of registration we have recorded.”
The Thanos Foundation boss said they are working with many partners including the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports, the Anambra State Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and that of Health, to pull off the event.
On the concept behind the event, Ugochukwu said they are strong supporters of the vision of the state governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, who he said, wants to make Anambra the fulcrum of entertainment in the Southeast and Nigeria.
He also revealed their plans through the event, to groom budding talents that will fly the colour of the state in both national and international sporting competitions.
“We decided to come back home to contribute positively towards the development of the state, in support of the governor.
“We want to open Anambra state to sports and to groom homemade talents, that will represent Anambra at various levels.
“The world needs to realize that Anambra is an embodiment of many good things. Today, we are talking about the Lagos Marathon where even people from outside Nigeria, including Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, and many others, are winning huge.
“Anambra Marathon has eyes to compete and surpass Lagos Marathon which is presently the biggest and in the course of that, unleash the sporting potentials in Anambra in a way that the Ministry will have ample options on who to pick for sporting events at both the national and international levels.
“Overall, we want to assist the government look in the right place in the area of talent discovery and by so doing, grow the state sports sector,” he concluded.
